Exercise Joint Warrior is a major biannual multi-national military exercise which takes place in the United Kingdom, predominately in north west Scotland. It is the successor of the Neptune Warrior exercises and Joint Maritime Course.
Joint Warrior is organised by the UK Ministry of Defence and is Europe's largest military exercise and can involve up to 13,000 military personnel, from all three British armed forces, NATO and other allied countries. Up to 50 naval vessels, 75 aircraft and numerous ground-based units participate in a typical exercise. Operations include airborne assaults, amphibious landings and training in counter-insurgency, counter-piracy and interstate war. Live-fire exercises take place on various weapons ranges. Joint Warrior exercises take place in the spring and autumn and have a duration of two weeks.
The exercise aims to provide a multi-threat training environment where participants take part in collective training in preparation for deployment as a Combined Joint Task Force. Joint Warrior also provides a package of training to each participating unit which concentrates on its specialist role, but set within a larger war scenario.
Background
The Joint Maritime Course (JMC) series of exercises started after the Second World War in order to improve co-operation between the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in anti-submarine warfare. More recently, JMC exercises took place three times a year, in spring, summer and winter. In 2006 the exercise was re-branded as Neptune Warrior and in 2007 was reduced to two events per year. In 2008 the Joint Warrior name was introduced to reflect the increasing involvement of all three military branches. Each exercise is identified by the last two digits of the year it takes place and a number 1 or 2 depending on whether it is the first or second exercise of the year. For example, JMC 98/1 was the first Joint Maritime Course of 1998 and JW 15/2 was the second Joint Warrior exercise of 2015.
Throughout the Cold War the exercises focused on the anti-submarine warfare threat and utilised a NATO vs. Warsaw Pact scenario. Mustardia (red forces) represented a communist dictatorship and Cyanica (blue forces) a stable democracy. Since the late 1980s exercises have changed to reflect modern threats and theatres of war such as the Balkans, the Gulf and Afghanistan. Prior to the current core scenario, exercises were based on a civil war which broke out in Britannica in 1972, with the country then splitting into five smaller nations (Brownia, Mustardia, Cyanica, Ginger and Emeraldia). In order to represent the threat posed by al-Qaeda, the fictional terrorist group an-Quaich was introduced to exercises in 2003.
Planning
The exercise is planned and co-ordinated by the Ministry of Defence Joint Training & Exercise Planning Staff (JTEPS) based in HMNB Portsmouth. Traditionally Exercise Control (EXCON) was based in the Maritime Operations Centre at HMNB Clyde, but since 2022 EXCON has moved to different locations, including RAF St Mawgan and Bodin Lair in Northern Norway.
The Joint Warrior exercises use a common core scenario which is based upon the fragmentation of the fictional ‘Ryanian Empire’ into four nations in the late 1960s, and the intervening period of history up to the present day. A bespoke scenario is then re-written for each Joint Warrior by the JTEPS which includes simulated political and military tensions, resulting in hostilities.
Operations
Although Joint Warrior can utilise the whole of the UK including the surrounding seas and airspace, activity is generally focused off the north and north west of Scotland, Irish Sea and Moray Firth, where a freedom to manoeuvre in both deep and shallow water, a limited civilian population and low air and sea traffic provides ideal training conditions. The close proximity of air and sea weapons ranges such as Cape Wrath, Tain and Spadeadam is also beneficial.